Response to a Haditha Response

Thanks for your comments. I just don't have a whole lot of time for this blog stuff.

On the subject of "Four Hours in My Lai", no question that was a massacre. What I found most unforgiveable there, however, was that the Army was intentionally carrying thuggers, muggers and rapists and putting them in fire teams and/or squads to just do their thing. Disgraceful.

The latest on Haditha is that the E-6 in charge of this op has admitted, through his lawyer, to all of the killings, but in addition he has claimed that he used proper rules of engagement.

Two things here. First, these could not have been official rules of engagement (ROE), that makes our armed forces look trigger happy and clueless. So, they could have been unofficial ROE, which is why three officers in the chain of command were relieved of duty.

But even if "shoot first, identify targets later" was the unofficial ROE, it is clear in this case that the squad leader, and his troops, if they did not act out of revenge and rage (as was originally maintained)then, put plainly, they still over-reacted, perhaps out of fear.

I mean, I can accept the idea that, after an IED goes off, you might finger a house and decide to storm it, especially if you (think) you are taking fire from that house. And I can understand, barely, if the unofficial ROE entitles you to toss grenades and shoot anything moving in a house if you think you are in mortal danger.

But how do you go about shooting up the second house, after shooting up the first one, and knowing that you just killed a bunch of civilians? That makes no sense.

To compound the matter of wasting two households, and then sitting on the roof for several hours and shooting anyone who looks suspicious. The whole thing is atrocious and an embarrassment. All these people should be kicked out of the Corps. However, no hard time. These guys did not create the situation they were put in.

Now, if the ROE were "changed" at battalion level, then there probably was a cover-up and not a "miscommunication" as stated. You cannot have that either. Those officers involved should also be made to resign their commissions.

Actually I have less sympathy for the killings now, than I did when I thought it was a hot massacre. Those things do happen in war. If, however, the ROE's were changed such that basically every guy had a license to kill any Iraqi at any time, that is wanton violence, inexcusable in any war, and especially in a counter-insurgency, when you need hearts and minds.

We'll see how this plays out.